The Twin Bed
by ifthunderwasdesire
Summary: Hermione has trouble falling asleep while she and Ron share his small twin bed.


"Mione. You've got to stop moving. All of this," he gestures to her, "is keeping me from sleeping, which you know, I value a lot."

She glares up at him. "Would you like me to go back downstairs to my own bed? I'm perfectly fine with separating Harry and Ginny from each other just so I can sleep down there."

"No! I definitely don't want that. I've waited too long for you to let you go now." Ron wraps his arms tighter around her shoulders to prevent her from even thinking of getting up and leaving.

"Well, then what do you suggest, since you won't let me leave, and are still complaining about my 'constant moving'?" Hermione asks dejectedly.

Ron grins down at her. She can't see it, due to her head being shoved onto his chest in a weak headlock of sorts, but she can definitely hear it in his voice as he says, "When I was little, I'd had a similar problem, and Dad always told me to stay still for 15 minutes. He'd say 'Don't turn over, scratch your nose, or even wiggle your finger.'"

"But how am I supposed to stay still if I can't even find a comfortable position?"

"Find one that's as close to comfortable as possible, and stick with it."

"Fine."

She wriggles from Ron's grasp and turns on to her left side to face the wall. As she hoped, Ron followed suit and placed his right arm over her waist and his left under her neck, and moves so their whole bodies are touching. Just like always.

A minute or so passes, Hermione has lost track, but she is itching to move. She always feels comfortable wrapped in Ron's arms as they fall asleep, and she still is, but her mind can't shut off. Just little blips and flashes of things she needs to do cross her mind just as she feels she could actually fall asleep.

"Mione…You need to stop thinking. Don't focus on how long it's been just to prove my 15 minute rule wrong. Just relax and focus on your breathing."

"How do you know I wasn't just about to fall asleep?"

"Because I was watching you. You had that crinkle in your forehead that you always get when you're trying to prove me wrong," he chuckles out lightly. "Just forget everything you need to do. Relax. You're with me, you're safe, and we have all the time in the world to do whatever you need to do."

Her face visibly relaxes, and she exhales deeply. "Okay."

Hermione nudges his leg with her foot, insisting that he roll over to his back. He grumbles as he begrudgingly moves. "Really? Again?!"

"I told you I'm fine with leaving…"

"Nope." He grabs her again and pulls her head onto his chest, "Like I said, you're mine now, and I'm not letting you go."

"Hmph." Hermione readjusts herself so she is now comfortably laying with her head on his chest, and her left leg intertwined with his. Just like always.

She smiles at the familiarity.

"You think you can finally try my way? No movement at all?" he asks mockingly.

She glares up at him, yet again, and exasperatedly says, "Yes, Ronald. I think I can _finally_ do it your way."

She can feel him grin again as he kisses the top of her head. She can't help but grin herself.

Hermione closes her eyes, and focuses on her breathing, and doesn't move a muscle, just like he told her to. She can also hear his heartbeat as she rests her head on his chest, and focuses on that as well. Several minutes have passed, Hermione never kept track, and she starts drifting off to sleep.

Just before she fully succumbs to sleep, she feels his body move as if he's talking. She strains to hear his whispers, and only catches the end; the part where he quietly says "I love you," into her hair.

Without thinking, she automatically responds with "Hmm?" without moving an inch.

"Nothing," he whispers, and kisses her head once again, "Go back to sleep."

At any other time, she'd think she was dreaming. It's too soon for them to be saying that to each other. But, she feels it. She's felt it for a while, and she's sure he has too. Still, he's always been self-conscious, especially about things like that.

The one thing that lets her know she isn't dreaming, that she isn't imagining all of this, is his heart sped up when he thought she heard what he had said. She decides to drop the matter, so she doesn't embarrass him. If he wanted her to know this early, then he would've told her when he knew she was awake.

A few minutes pass, and Hermione is slowly, but surely, calming down from Ron's secret declaration, and so is he; his heartbeat has slowed to its normal pace, and she can just hear the start of his notorious snoring.

When she thinks he's asleep, she places a kiss on his chest and whispers to his heart, "I love you, too."

"Hmm?" he startles.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep," she whispers to him.

He doesn't respond, trying to remain relaxed.

She knows, though. She knows he heard what she said because his heart speeds up yet again; almost as if he's nervous.

"Mkay." He pulls her shoulders in closer as he rubs them slightly, and kisses her head yet again.

She nuzzles her head into him and is fully content with the way things are. It really is too soon to be fully admitting these feelings they have for one another, even if they've both felt it for a long time. It'll happen soon enough; as he said, they've 'got all the time in the world.'


End file.
